This weekend brought beautiful, fall weather to the Lot. My Other Half and I spent the afternoon outside taking care of leaves, spring bulbs, rain barrels and the two 4’x4′ raised vegetable beds. In our bipolar Zone 5 with the first hard freeze having already happened, winter could appear any day.

Prepping the vegetable beds consisted of pulling all the dead plants except for the still flourishing kale and chard. There were a few carrots still to be had! The soil in the two beds was dug and turned over to loosen up the settling that had happened over the growing season. A bag of aged manure and shredded leaves (raked from the yard and run over by the mower) was then mixed into each bed. Anymore leaves we rake before the snow flies will again be shredded, dumped, and mixed into the raised beds.

We’re not quite sure why any leaves are set out to the curb during the fall season. Shredded leaves from today’s gathering were added to our compost bin and sandy areas needing organic matter. The bagger was then removed from the mower, and the last bit of leaves were mulched right onto the lawn. We have yet to lurk by the curb to steal away neighbors’ bagged leaves.

The dahlia I grow in a container during the summer was snipped down, unearthed, and rinsed clean. I will let the bulbs dry (not dry out) before nestling them into a bed of peat moss in a paper bag. I learned about peat moss being a non-renewable resource after having purchased a bag. After I run out of peat moss, I will more than likely use sawdust. The bulbs spend their winter in the basement which is kept at a cool, but not freezing, cellar temperature. Occasionally throughout the winter a bit of water is added to keep the peat moss slightly damp. I’ve read some gardeners dust spring bulbs in fungicides before storing them for the winter.

Last but not least, the rain barrels were drained. Last year I waited too long, and it was way too cold out when I drained the barrels. The nozzles had frozen, so I had to wrestle them off their brick pedestals and tip them on their sides to drain. Ugh. It was a pain. My Other Half had redirected the downspout several weekends ago. Now all I have to do is place the barrels in the garage for the winter.